Eula’s new love

Eula Valdez is getting married to Richard Litonjua on Oct. 27 in a civil ceremony in Boracay. Richard is a 21-year-old Filipino-Australian who was "sis-bro" to Eula and friends Sylvia Sanchez and Sharmaine Suarez (Richard’s cousin), being the only boy in the all-girl barkada.

"Let’s not break the Valdez tradition," Richard told Eula in jest about the Valdez women getting married to younger men. But if you look at the couple, you can hardly tell the age difference. Eula is obviously blooming while Richard is totally smitten. He works in a power plant in Queensland but he might just move to Manila since Eula is based here.

"He respects my job. He understands my life," Eula said enthusiastically. It wasn’t love at first sight. They became friends, then close friends until they fell in love. Richard was flying in and out of Manila. He met Eula in December, returned in March and April, fell in love and proposed marriage to Eula in a beach in Butuan. "It was raining hard. He asked me to go with him to the beach. I had no clue what it was all about. I prayed and the rain stopped. And there, he asked me if I could marry him."

In my last interview with Eula for Private Conversations a couple of months ago, we talked about marriage and she said "You would know when it is right." And when she announced on The Buzz that she was getting married, I asked her again, "Why did you decide to get married now ?" And she quipped, "I know it’s right."

All the best to you, Eula and Richard. As your son Miguel told Richard, "If you love my mom, you may kiss the bride."

Regine: Is She Or Isn’t She?

Regine Velasquez is not pregnant. And neither is she having an affair with Ogie Alcasid. Ogie is one of Regine’s best friends. Both are musical giants in the local entertainment industry. And because both have frenetic schedules, they would only meet in their TV shows, recordings and rehearsals. But talks persist that they have an affair and worse, Regine is pregnant. That Regine has gained some weight is solid proof that she is on the family way. That she’s leaving for the US for a tour would be a sly little excuse for her to deliver the baby or have it aborted. And the plot thickens even more. Every single move of Regine will "point" to either openly admitting or hiding her delicate situation. If you bump into her in some restaurant or mall and by chance you catch her coughing, you might say that she’s having morning sickness. Everything will have a meaning in connection to the nasty rumor. Regine feels that even if she hires the San Miguel Philharmonic Orchestra and have Ogie compose a song that would deny the rumors, some people will still believe what they want to believe.

Regine is guesting in Ogie’s Oct. 10 concert. It must be difficult to hide her tummy if she is already pregnant. Or if you say that since it’s her first, and it may not manifest immediately, then wait for February, since the two are doing a Valentine show together. By then she must be very pregnant and I don’t think even the gowns of Rajo Laurel would be able to conceal the infanticipating Regine. And if there’s no baby, one can always say, well, "baka nakunan ..."

But why am I so defensive? Because Ogie and I are also very good friends and I swear we’re just good friends. And I gained a little weight and at times I feel sick in the mornings. But God, I’m not ...

The New Anna Fegi

Anna Fegi has certainly come a long way from her amateur singing contest days in Cebu. She remembers singing Streisand songs, winning contests and helps her family with the prize money. But for Anna’s most memorable singing contest experience was when, in the middle of reaching the high notes of One Moment in Time, her half-slip fell. Stirred but not shaken, Anna finished the song and eventually won the first prize of P300.

Anna is now busy promoting her second album under BMG Records Pilipinas. Titled Straight Ahead the album contains 14 songs including the carrier single Saan Ka Na Ngayon?

Well, how different is Straight Ahead from her debut album? Anna says this time she has overcome her fear of recording in Tagalog. "Only two songs in the new album are in English as compared to the first one where most of the songs are in English. I was scared of recording in Tagalog because of my punto. But I practiced and my friends really helped me."

But the most glaring difference, however, is that Anna’s curly mane is gone and she is sporting a new straight hair look for the cover. "I’ve always loved to experiment with my look."

Anna acknowledges that the music industry has been kind to her. "I’m growing with the industry. I’m having so much fun," she says.